ELL students in Illinois must take regular state achievement test

Illinois students who have limited English-language skills will have to take the regular state achievement exams beginning next year, under a recent decision by federal officials. In past years, students who were new to the country and spoke little English were allowed to take the Illinois Measure of Annual Growth in English (IMAGE) in math and reading. That exam is written in English, but it has fewer and simpler questions. But the U.S. Department of Education ruled earlier this month that IMAGE was not an appropriate way to determine if non-English speaking students were mastering basic math and reading skills. Read the article in The Chicago Tribune online.